New Epstein victim goes public as Trump labor secretary defends plea deal

US President Donald Trump's labour secretary Wednesday defended his handling of a secret plea deal he made with Jeffrey Epstein as another woman came forward to allege she was raped by the billionaire hedge fund manager.

Labour Secretary Alexander Acosta, 50, a former federal prosecutor, has been facing mounting calls to resign over the decade-old plea deal that saw Epstein serve just 13 months in a county jail.

Epstein, 66, was charged Monday by prosecutors in New York with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

Those charges carry a maximum of 45 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage teen girls at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005. Some were as young as 14.

The well-connected Epstein, whose friends have included Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, faced similar allegations of sexually abusing girls in Florida a decade ago.

During a 50-minute press conference, Acosta replied to a barrage of questions from reporters about his office's handling of the Epstein case when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida.

The deal reached with Epstein required him to plead guilty to a single state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and register as a sex offender.

Acosta said prosecutors agreed to the deal rather than take Epstein to trial on more serious charges because that would have been a "roll of the dice" "The goal here was straightforward," he said.

"Put Epstein behind bars, ensure he registered as a sexual offender, provide victims with the means to seek restitution, and protect the public by putting them on notice that a sexual predator was in their midst."
"I'm glad to see that it's happening now," he said. "He's a bad man and needs to be put away."
"But you're talking about a long time ago." Trump described Epstein as a "terrific guy" in a 2002 New York magazine article, but he said Tuesday that he was "not a fan of his." "I had a falling out with him a long time ago,"